Ocean of Promises
by Ezaria
Summary: A promise of brotherhood was made on the last day of summer between three childhood friends. 10 years later, will they reunite as brothers once more or remain strangers? A fun slice-of-life tale of a boy with grandpa induced chuunibyou, an infamous school bully and a mysterious fantasy writer. High school AU
1. Chapter 1

Author's Note: Writing this is like therapy to me, so I hope you guys will give this fanfic a chance. Why is this a High School AU fic, you ask? I've been having a shitty time in school, and I'm going to turn it around in my crazy mind. Imagination saves lives.

Disclaimer: One Piece isn't mine and never will be. I wish Ace was mine though. :3

* * *

**Prologue**

"When men share cups of sake, they become brothers," The eldest of the trio, a freckled 8 year old boy with raven black hair said, pouring the sake he had stolen from their caretaker, Dadan, into three red saucers.

The youngest of the group, a raven haired 5 year old boy with a scar under his left eye, grinned widely, hands at the edge of the tree stump they were using as a makeshift table, "Brothers? Really?!"

As soon as Ace had poured his dish, Luffy's tiny fingers held it like a sacred item, careful not to spill a single drop.

Sabo's saucer was soon filled with the stolen sake and the 7 year old blond boy with a missing tooth accepted it with a smile.

"No matter what we do or where we are, these bonds will never break. And so, from this day forward, we are brothers!" Ace declared, raising his saucer skyward.

"Yeah!" Luffy and Sabo raised their saucers as well, knocking them against one another's.

Lowering their saucers, they drank the sake, savouring every last drop of it. The three boys plopped back on the grass field, a satisfied sigh escaping their lips.

For a long moment, none of them spoke; feeling contented just watching the clouds roll by on such a hot and humid summer day. The blue sky was framed by tall trees all around and the leaves rustled in the gentle breeze. It would be the last time the brothers saw the sky they shared from the backyard of their summer home, a double storey cottage in the middle of the forest.

The wind carried a whiff of freshly baked chicken pie from the kitchen, signalling their dinner time. Normally Dadan would yell for the mischievous brats, however, she chose not to on their last day of summer together, knowing that their parents and guardians would take them back before the moon rises for the night. And as much as Luffy loved chicken meat, he couldn't bear to end this tranquil moment shared by his newfound brothers.

"Ne, Ace, Sabo... We won't be seeing one another again tomorrow, right?" Luffy muttered, breaking the silence, "Will I ever meet you guys again?"

"I'll find you back no matter long it takes," Ace replied, a serious look on his face making him look older than his age.

"So will I," Sabo agreed, "Even if we aren't able to, our dreams will let us cross paths again."

* * *

**10 Years Later**

**Chapter 1: School By The Ocean, Luffy's Arrival**

"Jii-chan, watch me! I'm going to be the Pirate King!" A 15 year old teenage boy yelled from the living room, his feet planted on the dilapidated sofa with protruding springs and cotton from years of misuse.

"Cut that out! Once you graduate high school, you are joining the marines!" Garp huffed, clearly annoyed at the same pirate declaration that happened every single morning without fail, packing Luffy's lunch more roughly in the kitchen.

"Bweh!" Luffy stuck out his tongue at Garp's back, bouncing on the squeaky couch as he did so, a defiant grin plastered on his childlike face, "I will become a pirate no matter what! Not just any pirate, I'm going to be the King of the Pirates!"

Not a second later, Garp's Fist of Love had connected with Luffy's skull, causing a painful looking bump to expand.

"Owwww! That hurts!" Luffy held onto his throbbing head, rolling on the couch in a futile attempt to stop the pain.

Garp dumped Luffy's oversized lunch box onto his stomach unceremoniously before storming off, muttering "Shitty brat..." under his breath.

With Garp gone temporarily, Luffy reached into the sofa, digging around the edges with a look of concentration on his otherwise cheeky face. His fingers brushed against some straw, and Luffy yanked it out from its hiding place, placing the treasured straw hat where it truly belonged on his messy mop of raven hair.

"Straw Hat Luffy has returned!" Pulling the hat down to shadow his round eyes, he grinned to no one in particular.

Garp soon returned with his grandson's luggage in tow, trudging down the stairs of their little apartment, "Listen up, Luffy. If you don't graduate from high school, I'm making you join the marines the minute you get expelled."

"No way, I refuse! I'm going to be a pirate!" Luffy practically yelled into his grandfather's face, drops of saliva raining down on his infuriated features like a passing shower.

For the second time that morning, Luffy experienced another Fist of Love.

* * *

Luffy's school bag and luggage pretty much flew over the school gate along with its laughing owner, a result of boasting to his grandfather that he was indeed made of rubber, hence normal attacks could not hurt him, because a pirate with rubber abilities is something you see every day.

With a "Shishishi" Luffy sat up and massaged his sore butt, completely ignorant of the fact that he was sitting in a thorny bush with twigs and dried leaves in his unkempt hair, the school gardener shrieking her head off behind him.

"Bye bye, Jii-chan!" He yelled out, waving in the direction of a slick black, totally marine patriotic car with its blue and white marine banners and symbols etched into the metal hull.

Garp grunted and stuck a hand out the car window, "Don't come back until you get your pirate delusions out of your head!"

"Not in a thousand years! It's a pirate's life for me!"

He could have sworn he saw the car swerve onto the sidewalk, scaring the crap out of an elegantly dressed lady, giggling his signature "Shishishi" as Garp manoeuvred the car back onto the road.

His smile never faltered as he picked himself up, trampling over the obstructing bushes to the dismay of the gardener. Picking up his luggage and haversack, and still unaware or unconcerned of the twigs and leaves and possibly caterpillars in his hair, Luffy headed towards the dormitories.

That is if he could find the dormitories.

The school campus was enormous. Whitewashed buildings linked by bridges, escalators and staircases were spread out as far as the eye can see. With gold designs embedded into the concrete serving as dividers between each level and windows tinted all colours of the rainbow, it gave the school a posh yet fun appearance.

Luffy stood there with his mouth agape with those sparkles in his eyes he got whenever he saw something absolutely cool, usually mecha related. Not looking where he was walking, the scrawny raven haired teen collided into a pillar of some sort as solid as rock.

"Watch where you are going!" A green haired teen cried out, rubbing the bump on his forehead covered by a black bandana.

"Moss head," Luffy simply said in response, squinting intently at the few strands of green peeking out from under his bandana. Quickly remembering the manners he saw Makino teach Ace all those years ago, he dipped his head in apology, "Sorry from bumping into you. My name is Luffy... And I'm going to be the Pirate King!"

The green haired teen sweat dropped, an expression of disbelief and amusement briefly registering on his stoic features.

"I'm Zoro..." He said carefully, reaching down to pick up his three wooden swords and replacing them back on the green haramaki hugging his waist.

"You use swords? Are you a swordsman? You look like a pirate wearing that bandana! Join my crew!" Luffy flashed his teeth in a wide grin.

"That's a nonexistent club. I'm already in the kendo club, Luffy. I'll have to reject your offer," _What kind of idiot with chuunibyou did I just associate myself with?! Zoro_ shook his head to clear his thoughts, trying to keep disgust from showing on his face at the mini jungle of twigs and leaves in Luffy's hair as the boy pouted in disappointment, "Aside from that, are you lost? You look new around here." _And get those twigs and leaves out of your hair!_

"I'm looking for the dormitories," Luffy stared the taller man for what seemed like a long moment, before relaxing his gaze, "What's a swordsman doing all the way out here?"

_This guy... I refuse to tell him I'm lost! _"I'm just about to make my way back to the kendo club room," Zoro replied as calmly as possible, a tick mark forming at his brow.

"Are the dormitories anywhere near the kendo club room?"

"Yes, they are..." _His expression is making it too damn hard for me to lie!_

"Show me the way, senpai?"

_I should have just told him I was lost._

* * *

"Woah! It's the ocean!" Luffy squealed with his barely contained his excitement. Look at that, his school was just next to the seaside! Ain't that the coolest thing ever?

Somewhat impatiently waiting for his new friend... _No, scratch that. Acquaintance. Luffy is merely an acquaintance._ Waiting for Luffy to get back to his side, Zoro stood there carrying his luggage for him, a scowl on his face.

Luffy was leaning against the chains that ran through wooden stakes anchored firmly into the wooden boardwalks that stretched a couple of metres to a simple shopping area. And yes, it is still part the school campus.

Despite being absolutely fascinated by the wide expanse of deep blue ocean, particularly the horizon where the azure sky met the rich aquamarine blue of the sea, he needed to know one thing, "Ne, Zoro, so why are we at the boardwalks? Are we looking for a ship? Do you have a pirate ship? Zoro? Hey Zoro!"

Zoro was hoping that his companion would never ask that question, as well as the rest of nonsensical blabbering that followed.

"Marimo is just lost again," A blond haired man in a chef's apron over his suit and tie strolled up to them from the direction of a restaurant ran by the school's very own culinary students.

"Shut it, ero-cook!" Zoro growled threatening at him from the corner of his eyes.

"Oh, so Zoro is lost. I'm lost too, shishishi," Luffy cut in with a smile.

_Why is he so proud of being lost?_ Zoro sighed.

"Nice to meet you, swirly eyebrows, I'm Luffy and I'm going to be the Pi—"

"His name is just Luffy," Zoro muttered through gritted teeth, sending Luffy a murderous glare which went completely ignored. _I'm not going to let myself be embarrassed by dartboard brow for hanging out with a chuunibyou pirate wannabe! _

_Swirly eyebrows? _Sanji lit his cigarette and took a puff of it to calm his nerves, "I'm Sanji." Noticing Luffy's luggage in marimo's hands, he held back from sniggering, "So, where are you heading off to? If you're going to be following that shitty marimo tour guide, you'll never find your destination."

"Oi! You trying to pick to fight, dumbass cook?!"

"Could you show me to the dormitories?"

"I've got customers to serve at the canteen right now..."

"I'll visit your restaurant during lunch, tea time, dinner, after dinner snack, supper, and midnight snack and—"

"Deal," The two new friends shook on it.

Zoro released his tight grip on his wooden blades, letting out a silent sigh. _They are completely ignoring me._

* * *

Author's Note: There'll be Whitebeard Pirates, Red Hair Pirates, and of course, the rest of the Straw Hats in future chapters, all to be introduced in random order. And what of Ace and Sabo? ;) Till next time, thanks for reading.

FYI: Chuunibyou is a kind of delusional belief that one has special powers, may take on traits of characters from fiction and / or imagines that they are living out a fantasy life. It's something like that, google it. XD In Luffy's case, he thinks he is a pirate with rubber ablities to counter Garp's dream of turning him into a marine.

Please review! I love reading reviews! Here is an important question for reviewers:

Should I have shonen ai / yaoi pairings? If yes, which pairings would you like to see? Ultimately it's still my decision, but I will take into consideration what readers want to see.


	2. Chapter 2

Author's Note: I'm really elated with all the reviews, favourites and followers I received from the first chapter! Thank you all very much! It made me more motivated to get the second chapter out! Humor is tough to write because it can border on stupidity sometimes...

* * *

**Chapter 2: Pineapples, Ace and Luffy?**

In a secluded part of the school library, a 17 year old boy sat on the window ledge of a tall but narrow window with a curved frame at the top. The blond had a large and awfully thick novel against his propped up thighs, his fascination with the story evident on his face. In between the ornate pillars on either side of the ledge, a mountain of books and scrolls were placed at random on the magenta carpet.

As always, the peace could never last for long in this particular school. Loud insults and threats disrupting his peace and quiet brought him back to reality. He clicked his tongue in annoyance, slamming the book shut. His eyebrow began to twitch in anger as he stared out the window facing the school field.

"Last warning. Get off our turf, yoi."

"_Our turf?_ You wanna pick a fight?!"

"You don't want to get suspended for starting a brawl yoi..."

"We're settling this right now, once and for all!"

_It's always those guys again... Whitebeard's sons and those Spade Pirate guys. Pirates belong out on the seas, not in a school campus! _After being in the same school as them for 4 years, he came to the conclusion that they were probably the only 'pirates' that he detested.

For such a grand library, it's a wonder why they can't afford to get sound proof walls. And to think that such a high school for the wealthy had such trouble makers. With clenched teeth, he flipped open the book again and glared at the words, forcing himself to concentrate on them once again.

The words told one of his favourite stories of an adventurous pirate that cared greatly about the freedom he longed for as a child.

* * *

"Hey, hey, Ace... Was it? It's not a good idea to pick a fight with us. You'd be attracting more attention, particularly from our Oyaji," A teen with a curved scar around his left eye and brown hair done up in a pompadour said exasperatedly. _I just want to eat some ramen and sleep in the student council room,_ "Let's just pretend nothing happened and forget about—"

"I'm taking your position of Student Council president from you," the raven haired teen in an unbuttoned pale yellow shirt said in an oddly cold voice, his fringe parted in the middle shadowing his eyes as he glared at the leader of Whitebeard's group, a blond teen with what he would like to call a 'pineapple hairdo'.

Marco sighed inwardly, his half lidded eyes and poker face not giving away his thoughts. _This brat always picks a fight with us every single day. Who in the right mind will allow one of the most rebellious and notorious students into the student council, much less appoint him as the president of it?_

"—An idiot," Vista mumbled nonchalantly to himself from behind Thatch as he polished his swords... More like removing splinters from the wooden blades, causing Marco to whip his head around to give him a silencing glare.

Ace seemed to hunch down a little, fists clenched tighter as if preparing to strike.

"He couldn't have heard me..."

"I very much think he did!" Thatch shrieked in a whisper.

"Cut it out, yoi!"

"Marco...!"

Ace threw himself forward, hurling a soccer ball that he seemed to have pulled out of nowhere. The ball flew with such speed that it almost looked like the friction caused a trail of fire to form behind it like a comet, aimed straight for Marco's face.

All hell broke loose, the school field turning into a battle ground like always.

* * *

"Ooooh, is that a fight?" Luffy's eyes sparkled with the need to satisfy his own curiosity, scratching his head absentmindedly.

Sanji had yelled at him to get the twigs and leaves out of his hair before any females notice him, mainly to uphold him reputation as a gentleman with friends and things befitting of one.

He ran ahead of Zoro and Sanji who have both learnt that there was no way of stopping the playful teen from exploring every inch of the school, knowing that they'd follow him anyway. Especially since Zoro was carrying his luggage for him and Sanji being their guide.

That was how a simple trip to the boy's dormitories could take over half an hour after multiple distractions mostly caused by Luffy and the frequent fights between the marimo and the love-cook.

"You wouldn't want to go there, Luffy," Sanji spoke between puffs of his cigarette. How the teachers have yet to catch him for smoking on school grounds, looks like that will remain a mystery.

The swordsman grimaced. This was one of the rare moments that Zoro had to agree with him.

"Shishishi, then I'm going!"

Sanji sighed, probably even his long nosed friend, Usopp, might not be able to convince him otherwise.

"_I think I have a case of I-can't-go-to-the-school-field-disease!" He would say while wailing, "Those people, our seniors, are monsters! Once they take notice of you, you'll never leave alive. You can forget about prom night and graduation. There's a reason why no one messes with the strongest in the school campus!" _

Well, you'd probably be able to catch all that if he wasn't stammering so much, knocking his knees together and breaking out into cold sweat.

"Can't stand the new transfer student any longer, eh? Ero-cook," Zoro interrupted his thoughts with a smirk.

"What was that, marimo?!"

Luffy ran ahead, his two companions fighting with kicks and swords in the background. He simply thought it was funny and that Zoro and Sanji were actually the best of friends. Following the shouts and what sounded like destruction of school property, Luffy made a right turn, then a left, weaving part the science laboratories and the library. Somehow Zoro and Sanji had managed to keep up with him despite their ongoing fight.

Right up ahead was the school field. While most people would be terrified or disgusted and leave the area, Luffy's eyes lit up with awe.

"It's a Pineapple Man!"

Zoro and Sanji froze, the cook's foot against one of the swordsman's three blades.

_That moron!_

* * *

Marco's eye twitched in anger, flinging a tennis ball with ridiculous strength at the enemy, a scrawny boy with his back to him, knocking him out instantly.

Thatch wailed from somewhere in the background, "He's said it, that poor kid... He said the forbidden word!"

All around a massive but violent dodge ball fight was taking place. Ace's people were being attacked on all sides by Whitebeard's, however, they were still able to hold their own in the battle.

Upon hearing the somewhat high pitched shout from beyond the fence separating the soccer field from the rest of the school grounds, Ace had turned to the voice out of curiosity. Letting two of his loyal comrades guard his back from the onslaught of baseballs that a large, burly teen, Jozu, was hurling in his direction. The freckled teen's eyes widened significantly.

_It can't be... That scar under his eye... Is it really..._

Sensing imminent danger approaching from behind, Ace spun around, pulling his right arm back with his fingers gripping the basketball tightly. Making eye contact with the sleepy eyed blond unsettled him further. Marco didn't even notice him as he brushed past.

_Wait, don't tell me he's going after him?! _

By the time Ace had realized it, Marco was already way ahead. The distance between the older teen with a turf of blond hair and the younger childlike one still happily ignorant of the consequences of his unintentional insult were decreasing rapidly as Marco picked up the pace.

Ace cursed under his breath and took off after him. _I don't know if that boy is really who I think it is, but I don't want to take the chance that he isn't and regret it!_

* * *

Noticing that the pineapple haired teen was approaching where he stood peering in through the gaps of the wire fence, Luffy skipped over to the only opening in the barrier that was unfortunately just a couple of metres to his right. Oh how convenient.

He really wanted to meet 'Pineapple Man'. He had such an awesome hairdo in the future Pirate King's opinion. Luffy was getting giddy from excitement. His hair would never be that cool!

Sanji and Zoro were yelling maniacally from behind. _How odd, they can actually get along. Maybe they should join the school choir._ He thought with a 'Shishishi'.

Looks like the pineapple haired teen could sense his excitement as he had fastened his pace. Luffy was about to call out to him with a wave when he spotted another teen with shaggy raven hair sprinting at him like his life depended on it.

"This school is way too much fun! Shishishi!"

* * *

Marco was furious, but he was still calm and thinking logically. It was his ability to think things through before jumping to conclusions that has helped him solve problems his more hot headed brothers were not able to. Just like other times, he would approach the person that had teased him and speak to him or her about it. Some were a bit more thick headed, requiring him to use threat, but never had he once punched someone over a minor issue like his hair.

However, he felt compelled to put a stop to the pineapple name calling before it was out of hand. When one person does it, others will follow along. Marco didn't want that to happen again, he had gotten into enough trouble about it before Whitebeard had found him and transferred him to this school.

A simple talk with the bubbly teen at the fence would do.

* * *

Shuttlecocks and tennis balls were flying all around, with war cries and tears of defeat, yet none were aimed at the two of them. It was almost like they had practiced it many times... Well, actually they had, every time Ace picked a fight with Whitebeard's people.

He was almost there, very close to intercepting Marco. Ace was panting hard, his muscles aching with fatigue. Almost there!

Just as Marco reached the gate, Ace hurled himself in front of him, the basketball raised to attack...

Only to get hit in the stomach by Marco's well aimed shot with a football.

He could see stars and his vision clouding, a sharp pain shooting across his body from the impact. The last thing his heard before slipping unconsciousness was a very distinct laugh and a few simple words.

"Shishishi, Mr Pineapple Man, I like your hair."

_It's definitely him. Luffy._

* * *

Author's Note: I wonder if Luffy recognizes Ace. XD

Special thanks and a big shout out to my reviewers:  
The guest reviewer, TheAnalei, Frostheart D. Blaize, 02FireRains, MikeyMatrix, Lover's Red Rose and Redery.

And an extra large shout out to Ano Crazy Adventurer!  
I love your suggestions, thank you for taking the time to come up with ideas and reviewing. I'll see what I can do to include some into the story wherever I see fit. I really do like some of your ideas!

Answers to reviewers:  
There aren't any real pirates since it's a modern day school setting. But there are some students that play pirates such as Luffy, Ace... And possibly Sabo.  
I didn't want Zoro and Sanji to go straight into fighting to sort of establish their like-hate kind of friendship in the first chapter, but they fought in the second chapter and will probably do so in the future as well. :)

I'm still open for suggestions about whether or not to have shonen ai / yaoi pairings. If you do wish to see some, which pairings would you like to see? Ultimately it's still my decision, but I will take into consideration what readers want to see. So leave a review if you haven't, it'll be a great help to me.

Hope to read more reviews from everyone. And till next time, thanks for reading!


	3. Chapter 3

Author's Note: Well this took long enough. I'm not satisfied with this chapter at all, but I decided to just get it over and done with. I'll describe this chapter as 'more plot, less humor'.

* * *

**Chapter 3: Detention and Ace's Notebook**

"He's waking up, yoi..."

"Eeeh! Call a doctor, we need a doctor!"

"You're the doctor, Chopper-ya."

"Oh, right. Ace, how are you feeling? Does it hurt?"

"Ace? His name is Ace?!"

"Stop disturbing the patient, Mugiwara-ya."

The freckled teen blinked against the bright light filtering in through the blinds as he sat up, scratched the back of his head and messing up his shaggy hair. How could anyone get any sleep with all the noise in the infirmary anyway?

A dark haired boy with a straw hat stared at him with wide unblinking eyes, mouth slightly agape, leaning over the edge of the bed. There was an awkward stretch of silence before he spoke again.

"Your name is Ace?"

Ace nodded slowly, searching the younger boy's eyes for any recognition, masking his disappointment when he found none.

"I've met an 'Ace' before. He was really cool, like a big brother to me. Shishishi," Luffy grinned, "You've got an awesome name."

So he really didn't recognize him. Ace clenched his fists under the blanket; he had wanted to meet Luffy for the longest time, only for the kid not to recognize him. Despite his disappointment, he felt warm on the inside. Luffy actually thought he was a cool brother even though he used to be terribly mean and violent towards him.

"You seem really quiet, are you alright?" Chopper walked over to his bedside, "There's a large bruise on your abdomen area, but you should be fine."

Dressed in a white lab coat and a furry pink hat with a white cross on the front, Chopper was a young teen, probably younger than Ace by a couple of years. It was rumoured that he was a child prodigy who graduated from medical school before he was 12.

And there was another rumour that Chopper was secretly a reindeer, which was clearly the most ridiculous rumour circulating around the school to date.

"Yeah, I'm alright, Dr Chopper. Thank you," Ace reassured him with a slight smile, sending the young doctor into one of his "calling me a doctor doesn't make me happy, asshole" dances.

Glancing briefly at the other doctor... _Carrying a nodachi?!_ ...Currently present in the infirmary, and his arch enemy, Marco, sitting in the corner with a leg propped up over the other with the same unreadable expression on his sleepy face, his eyes returned to the straw hat wearing teen biting on his lips. Luffy looked like he had something to say.

"Just tell him, yoi. He won't faint again," Marco said, earning a scowl from Ace.

"I'm Luffy, I'm going to be Pirate King and look," Introducing himself quickly, Luffy pulled out a thick stack of paper, each piece attached to the previous one with tape, and let it unravel to the floor like a scroll.

Ace squinted a little at the tiny font, realizing that it was a bunch of names, some from his Spade Pirates, and the others are Whitebeard's sons. His eyes roamed to the big font at the top of the first piece. _Oh shit..._

As soon as the edge of the final piece rested on the floor, Luffy grinned widely and exclaimed loudly for the entire sickbay to hear, "We're all going to have detention together!"

How is that anything to be proud of?!

Ace rested his forehead onto his palm with a light slapping sound and sighed. Marco snorted softly and Luffy was laughing excitedly and jumping around. This was definitely going to be a long day.

* * *

The room was recently furnished, nothing fancy with minimal furniture required and was rather large for just one student. A simple queen size bed was pushed against a corner and an L shaped sofa with a glass coffee table occupying the rest of the floor space, yet there was still plenty of space left. Sunlight crept through the gaps of the pale blue curtains drawn across the wide floor to ceiling windows which led to a balcony overlooking the ocean.

"Must be a rich kid..." The green haired teen muttered under his breath, dumping Luffy's luggage in the middle of the room.

"I heard that the transfer student's granddad is a famous marine... At least he doesn't sleep in a junkyard like someone," Sanji lit another cigarette, drawing the curtains aside with his free hand. _The Baratie can be seen from here, not bad._

"The dojo is not a junkyard, dumbass cook!"

Sanji spun around to glare at Zoro whose hands were already reaching for his swords, "What was that, marimo?!"

Girly giggles drew their attention to the door left ajar on its hinges, a pleasant interruption for a certain love-cook. Almost as though as if he had a split personality, Sanji switched to his 'noodle dance', eyes turned to bright pink hearts, "Vivi-chwaaaaan~!"

"Good afternoon, Sanji..." The sky blue haired girl trailed off as she took a step into Luffy's dormitory, fixing the blond with a strange look.

An orange haired girl peered into the room, an eyebrow raised in amusement, "I thought you liked girls and only girls."

"Nami-swaaaaan~! Of course! Why yes, I love all the beautiful ladies."

"B-but, you and Zoro..." Vivi pushed a strand of hair away from her face, looking at the luggage between the two males with wide eyes.

Zoro yawned and observed the situation with a bored expression. _Time for another nap perhaps._

"What about mosshead and I, my lovely Vivi-chwan?"

Nami stepped into the room, a hand on her hip over her mini skirt, the other holding onto a stack of books about navigation and maps. She had a smirk on her face as she stepped closer to Sanji.

"So it was lovers' quarrels after all. When did you make it official?"

The swordsman choked on his spit and the hearts in place of Sanji's eyes cracked into a billion pieces. "WHAAAAATTT?!"

"Nami-swam, Vivi-chwan, my heart only belongs to ladies! We were just helping the transfer student bring his belonging to his room," The look of despair etched onto Sanji's face immediately turned into a snarl in Zoro's direction, "Who the heck will even get together with that marimo? Nami-swan, believe me!"

Sanji looked like he was ready to beg on his knees to the girl he cooked all the meals of the day for every single day without fail. Vivi just looked lost and smiled awkwardly, a light blush on her cheeks.

_What a hopeless situation._ Zoro sighed, brows knitted in irritation, "How much are you asking for?"

"Ah Zoro, I knew you were smart," Nami patted him on the shoulder, a fake smile on her face. Putting some distance between them, Nami raised a hand, displaying three fingers, "Three hundred beli!"

"What?! This is blackmail!"

"Of course it is, a brilliant money making business."

"We really shouldn't extort money from them, Nami. You've already gotten detention to serve for pickpocketing..."

"That's plenty of opportunities to trick the dimwits there into giving— I mean, sharing their money with me during detention."

"Nami-swan..."

"I wonder if the school newspaper would like such juicy information," Nami looked off to the side, a hand under her chin.

"Alright, okay, I'll pay!" Zoro grunted.

"I like you, Zoro," Nami winked and waved over her shoulder, leaving the room with Vivi hot on her heels, "Don't break your promise. See you guys after detention."

Vivi smiled at them apologetically, mouthing the words "Let's have dinner with the others later".

Silence returned once again, only the chirping of birds and the curtains swaying in the gentle breeze could be heard... Until Sanji turned around bearing his teeth which, for some reason, looked pointy like razor blades.

"Why the heck does Nami-swan like a muscle head like you?!"

"She only likes my money, ero-cook!" _Where is Luffy?! That moron is the source of all my problems today..._

* * *

Lost in the crowd gathered outside one of the larger lecture theatres, Marco and Ace waited against the walls while their other detention companions mingled about.

"How do you even get detention on your first day of school," Ace muttered while scowling.

Marco scanned the hallway for any sign of the straw hat wearing teen before replying to Ace in a low whisper, "The teachers assumed that Luffy and you were related. It happened when you were unconscious—"

"I wasn't unconscious, I was resting."

"So you were asleep on the soccer field then, yoi? That's even worse," Marco raised an eyebrow in amusement, and Ace looked aside, arms crossed over his chest. He continued, "I thought that Luffy was your brother, that's why he's here in detention. Guess I was wrong this time."

Ace didn't say a word, still refusing to look at Marco. _Why am I even talking to him anyway..._

"So you two are really related then?"

_We are, yet we aren't. _The raven haired teen didn't want to tell him anything. Marco wasn't anyone he trusted.

"Pineapple!"

"For the last time, it's Marco."

The sound of sandals hitting the floor got louder before pausing abruptly as the straw hat wearing teen skidded to a stop in front of them.

"Shall we sit together in class?" Luffy's grin was infectious, and Marco couldn't help but nod slightly in agreement. Ace's scowl deepened somewhat, "I'll sit with Ace too!"

"It's not a class," An orange haired girl spoke up from her position near the railing, "Haven't you been to detention before?"

"Nope," His smile never faltered, "I just got expelled."

"What?! Expelled?" Ace shouted.

"Yup, this is my seventh high school. Jii-chan said that if I get expelled one more time, he'd send me to the marines straight away, but it's okay. I'll just run away before he gets here. If I can, I'll run away with all my friends," Luffy had a dreamy look on his childlike face, "We'll be pirates together and live freely."

A slight smile tugged at the corners of Ace's lips. _He hasn't forgotten. Not at all._

"Perhaps I should suggest to Oyaji to call us the Whitebeard Pirates instead." Marco added.

Ace muttered under his breath, his hair shadowing his eyes, "Don't copy my Spade Pirates..."

"Shishishi! This school is great, let's all be pirates!" Luffy exclaimed.

"Pirates? Are you a captain?" The orange haired girl turned around with a smirk, leaning on her elbows against the railing. The wind picked up slightly, ruffling her clothes. The sleeve of her shirt flapped in the breeze, revealing what looked like a dark blue tattoo in the shape of a curved pinwheel, "Are we going to extort money from people?"

"Since when did you join his crew?" Thatch spoke up as he approached from behind.

Nami was about to say something in reply but the teacher had arrived. The teacher in charge of overseeing their detention was a tall man with tan skin, wearing a formal navy blue suit.

"Just head inside and study, keep the noise level down," Aokiji shifted the eye mask for sleeping on his forehead over his hair of dark curvy hair.

* * *

Five hours have passed since the start of their detention and most of the students have left the lecture room. Nami had left with most of their wallets, and the outside of the room sounded like a brawl for their meal coupons and money was going on. Luffy was having too much fun straining his ears to hear the fight over Ace and Aokiji's combined snoring.

Luffy and Ace weren't the only ones left in the detention room. After Luffy had offered to take some of Ace's detention time, Marco and Thatch piped in that they would help too. Apparently Ace had accumulated over a hundred hours of detention for picking fights with not only Whitebeard's sons but also the other side of the student council committee led by some of the more law abiding students.

Ace had objected to them taking his detention time until Aokiji informed them that he could be expelled if he didn't clear the hours with community service of some sort because simple detention wasn't enough.

"_Gol D.—" Aokiji was reading out the attendance list._

"_It's Portgas D. Ace!" The owner of that name cut in, hoping that his voice would drown out Aokiji's._

_Luffy frowned and titled his head in confusion. He remembered that the Ace from his childhood refused to tell him his last name so he never had the chance to find out. _

"_Ah, that reminds me you've got too many detention hours to clear. It'll probably be swapped to community service—."_

"_Imagine Ace helping a granny cross the street!" Thatch had said, causing the guys around him to guffaw loudly. _

_Marco had realized that Ace didn't take insults too well when the shaggy haired teen got up abruptly, fists balled tightly and ready to push the lights out of the closest student. The blond was about to interject when Luffy shot up from his seat, letting the chair clatter onto the floor noisily, startling the entire class. _

"_I'll take Ace's detention hours!" _

"_No way! You're Garp's grandson, at least try to keep your school record clean!" A pink haired boy spoke up, trying not to tremble in fright. _

"_I don't care! Ace is my friend. I won't go to school anymore if Ace can't come to school!"_

The room was silent, only the nervous shuffling of feet and the flipping of textbooks could be heard. Ace stared straight at Luffy in shock.

"_I'll take some of them too!" Thatch yelled out to Aokiji, Coby and some of the student council members gathered at the front of the lecture room. _

"_I guess I'll be taking some too, yoi," Marco added with a slight smirk. _

And that settled it despite Ace protesting initially.

Currently, Luffy was reading Ace's notebook filled with funny doodles that he didn't understand but still found really hilarious. There was one with Marco as a pineapple, Thatch trying to comb the knots in his own hair, and an old man with a banana for a moustache. A couple of other random sketches and many doodles of pirates and the ocean littered the white pages. It was almost like a comic book, and Luffy was enjoying it immensely. _This Ace is a really great artist! Shishishi._

The sleeping Ace hadn't noticed when the younger teen carefully pulled his notebook out from under his heavy arm. _Ace probably wouldn't mind, I'm his friend after all. I don't know why, but I feel like I've known Ace for a long time, maybe that's what true friends feel like. _

Luffy had read through most of the pages and flipped to the last page of the notebook, skipping all the blank pages. A few scribbled numbers and words caught his attention on the very last page. It appeared to be a classroom number and a name. _It couldn't be..._ His eyes widened, Thatch leaned over his seat calling out to Luffy but he went ignored. The four letters on the page were all that Luffy cared about at the moment.

_This name... Ace knows Sabo. I know Ace. I've found them, I've found my brothers at last!_

* * *

Author's Note: I hope this chapter wasn't too bad.

Here's a shout out to Ano Crazy Adventurer for the idea of Vivi and Nami pairing Zoro and Sanji together. I'll probably carry on the joke. Thank you for the awesome idea!

Thanks to all my other reviewers:

Redery, Style1234, TheAnalei, Demon Ragna, Red Moon Lollipop and LemondoughoutPXC!  
I feel really encouraged to write because of all of you!

I've made up my mind, there'll be no yaoi pairings in this fanfic. Mild shonen-ai might be present, but only if you squint hard enough. Otherwise, it's pretty much brotherhood and best friends all the way!

I'd like to apologize for the lack of humor in this chapter. Let's just say I've been feeling depressed all week and it's really hard to force out anything funny. I'll give it my best in the next chapter! Please review, even if it's a negative review, I'm cool with it. Thanks everyone.


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